Welcome to our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Four. With several of the top teams having their first bye week of the year, there isn’t a whole lot of movement in our playoff teams. However, there was one game in the Big Ten that added a new team to our top twelve. In addition, Texas Tech staked an even bigger claim to the Big 12 title while Clemson continued their free fall. While there isn’t a whole lot of movement at the top, just below the playoff, there’s a lot of destinations changing around. As always, if you’d like to see how things changed, you can click here. Now, to the reason why you’re here, our bowl projections after week four.
A Mostly Status Quo Week
How The Process Works
Things are different from last season. There are 12 teams in the playoff, and the top four still get a first-round bye. However, the winners of the Power Four conferences don’t automatically get slots 1-4. In addition, the highest-ranked Group of Five team gets a bid. That leaves seven at-large teams. Once again, seeds 5-8 host first-round games on campus. The New Year’s Six bowls are introduced for the next round and the semi-finals. Miami, Florida, hosts the title game on January 19th. With the formalities out of the way, let’s get to our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Four.
College Football Playoff First Round
Friday, December 19th- (12) South Florida at (5)- Oregon– At this point, we’re not sure who’s getting the Group of Five bid. However, we’re pretty sure the team is coming from the American Conference. Tulane and South Florida have one loss, albeit to really good teams on the road. Navy, North Texas, and Memphis are all unbeaten. For this week, we’re running with the Bulls. On the other side of the ball, Dan Lanning’s Ducks had no trouble beating Oregon State in the “Civil War” 41-7. They have to go to Penn State on Saturday in the week’s biggest game.
Saturday, December 20th- (11) Indiana at (6) Georgia– Curt Cignetti’s squad beat Illinois 63-10 on Saturday, in which Fernando Mendoza threw for five touchdowns. As a result, the Hoosiers rocket into our playoff projections while the Illini are out. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs had the week off before hosting Alabama on Saturday.
Saturday, December 20th- (10) Texas A&M at (7) Texas Tech- Mike Elko’s Aggies host Auburn on Saturday after having the week off. As we mentioned earlier, even with a backup quarterback, Joey McGuire’s club did what few teams have done recently, winning at Utah.
Saturday, December 20th- (9)- Oklahoma at (8) Florida State– John Mateer and the Sooners got past Auburn on Saturday and moved up a couple of spots. However, the school announced that he will undergo surgery on his right hand and will miss time. Obviously, this is something to watch in the weeks to come. The Seminoles had no problem with Kent State 66-10, but quarterback Thomas Castellanos left with an ankle injury. However, he says he’s good to go on Saturday at Virginia.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals-
Goodyear Cotton Bowl- Wednesday, December 31st- (5) Oregon vs. (4) Penn State- We get a rematch from this weekend’s epic game but this time on a neutral site.
Capital One Orange Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (7) Texas Tech vs. (2) Miami- The Hurricanes took care of Florida and have the week off before hosting Florida State.
Rose Bowl Game- Thursday, January 1st– (8) Florida State vs. (1) Ohio State– Ryan Day’s club had the week off and go out west to face Washington this weekend.
Allstate Sugar Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (6) Georgia vs. (3) LSU- The Tigers had no trouble with Southeast Louisiana and travel to Ole Miss on Saturday. These two teams don’t play during the year, but could, of course, meet in the SEC title game.
Semi-Finals and Final-
VRBO Fiesta Bowl- Thursday, January 8th- (4) Penn State vs. (1) Ohio State- We get another regular-season Big Ten rematch in the semi-finals.
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl- Friday, January 9th- (3) LSU vs. (2) Miami- The Tigers lead the all-time series 10-3 but haven’t met since 2018.
College Football National Championship- Monday, January 19th- (3) LSU vs. (1) Ohio State- We’re going with a Big Ten-SEC final.
That’s a lot to digest; however, there’s still plenty more to come. Continuing with our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Four, let’s move to the games around the New Year.
Filling The Void
Games Around The New Year
Music City Bowl- December 30th- Big Ten vs. SEC- Illinois vs. Missouri
Valero Alamo Bowl- December 30th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Iowa State vs. USC+- The Trojans go to San Antonio as a legacy Pac-12 school.
Radience Technologies Independence Bowl- December 30th- Big 12 vs. Conference USA- Baylor vs. Jacksonville State
Reliaquest Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Nebraska vs. Texas- The Longhorns remain just outside our top 12 and head to Tampa for a classic Southwest Conference matchup.
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- North Carolina State vs. Utah+- The Utes go to El Paso as a legacy Pac-12 member.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. SEC- Alabama vs. Michigan- The Crimson Tide have a big one this weekend at Georgia.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. Pac-12- Michigan State vs. Arizona State+- The Sun Devils go to Vegas as a legacy Pac-12 team.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl- January 2nd- Big 12 vs. American/Conference USA/Sun Belt- Central Florida vs. Army
Autozone Liberty Bowl- January 2nd- Big 12 vs. SEC- BYU vs. Vanderbilt
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- January 2nd- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech- Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets have a real shot at being 11-0 when they host Georgia in the season’s final game.
Holiday Bowl- January 2nd- ACC vs. Pac-12- SMU vs. Washington+- This will be the first time this game has ever been played in January. The Huskies go as a legacy Pac-12 team.
Moving on with our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Four, let’s move to the season’s initial games.
First Weekend Games
Cricket Celebration Bowl- December 13th- MEAC vs. SWAC- South Carolina State vs. Jackson State
LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk December 13th- Mountain West vs. Pac-12- Boise State vs. Cal+- We totally jinxed the Bears by talking them up last week. There’s a new home for them as they go to LA as a legacy Pac-12 team.
IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl- December 16th- Mid-American vs. Sun Belt- Central Michigan vs. Arkansas State
StaffDNA Cure Bowl- December 17th- American/Conference USA/Sun Belt- Rice vs. Toledo
68 Ventures Bowl- December 17th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Southern Mississippi vs. Utah State
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 19th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. Texas San-Antonio
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl- December 19th- American/ACC/Notre Dame/SEC- South Carolina vs. Virginia
Bowls Right Before Christmas
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- December 22nd- Mountain West vs. MAC- UNLV vs. Ohio
Boca Raton Bowl- December 23rd- American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- Memphis vs. Maryland
New Orleans Bowl- December 23rd- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt– Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana Tech
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl- December 23rd- AAC/CUSA/MAC/MWC/SBC- North Texas vs. Old Dominion
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl- December 24th- American vs. Mountain West- East Carolina vs. Hawaii
Let’s finish up our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Four with the games right after the big holiday.
Post-Christmas Games
Game Above Sports Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. MAC- Rutgers vs. Buffalo
Rate Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. Big 12- Maryland vs. Houston
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl- December 26th- AAC/ACC/Big 12- Kansas vs. James Madison
Go Bowling Military Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Navy vs. Clemson- Could the Tigers miss the bowl season totally? They’ve certainly got some work to do.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- Pittsburgh vs. Iowa
Wasabi Fenway Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Syracuse vs. Tulane- The Orange got a big win at Clemson Saturday. However, they lost quarterback Steve Angeli for the season to an Achilles injury.
Pop-Tarts Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Notre Dame vs. TCU- We’re slotting the Fighting Irish here this week.
Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl- December 27th- MAC vs. Mountain West- Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl- December 27th- Mountain West vs. American/Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Wyoming vs. Texas State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Louisville vs. Tennessee
Kinder’s Texas Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. SEC- Auburn vs. Arizona
Birmingham Bowl- December 29th- American/ACC/SEC- Mississippi State vs. Duke- At 4-0, Jeff Leby’s Bulldogs have already won more games than most national pundits predicted. As a result, we’ve got them heading to Birmingham.
To Be Announced Bowl Game-
Former Bahamas Bowl- Conference USA vs. MAC- Florida International vs. Miami (Ohio)- We don’t know the title or where the game will be played, but we have a matchup.
What We’re Watching
Week five of the college football season is one of the best in recent memory. In addition to Oregon at Penn State, Alabama at Georgia, and LSU at Ole Miss, there are several other big matchups. Those include Indiana at Iowa, USC at Illinois, and Notre Dame at Arkansas. As a result, our picks are certain to change. Thanks for checking out our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Four here at Last Word On College Football.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
